State Commission Orders Shutdown of Oil Company

The Kansas Corporation Commission this week ordered its staff to shut down and seal an oil company’s wells, saying it reaped more than $1 million from illegal drilling operations.

The Wichita Eagle reports Viva International Inc. was also issued a $75,000 fine by the state commission on Thursday.

According to commission records, the company has been penalized for 87 different violations of state oil regulations and had its license suspended 11 times since June 2013.

Kansas law requires oil companies to acquire licenses and provide the commission with information on well locations and operations. The commission says the company has given incomplete and wrong records, ignored repeated requests for more information and continued to operate unlicensed wells.

A message left with the company wasn’t immediately returned Friday.